Becoming an Eggs-pert!

Introduction

Welcome To Your First Day on The Job!

You just got hired to become an Eggs-pert! During training for this job you will have to work in groups to prepare for the hatching of these chicks!! As we both know, animals are much different than humans. They require different types of care and nutrition. Your job is to figure out their needs to be happy, healthy, and on their way to adulthood. You will be assigned jobs from Farmer Ashley, she is the boss. Make sure you follow her directions and tips, she knows it all! Good luck!

Task

You're Hired!

Here is your job requirements:

You must first know, that chicks are born out of eggs. They stay in their eggs and incubate under their mother to keep from dangers of other animals or from becoming too cold or falling out of the nest. The eggs are very delicate and can crack with one wrong move. There are four different jobs, so students will be split into groups of 4. The jobs are farmers, eggs-perts, caretaker, and mother nature. Best of luck discovering the safest and most natural way to keep the chicks safe. You soon will be a mother chicken to be and have to care for your "egg" pay close attention and remember the important steps, they will become handy!

Process

The class will first watch the growth of a chick in the egg:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PedajVADLGw align:center]

You will soon be split into groups and they will start to do research on the question you are specifically assigned to. Under the task section there are all the questions that need to be answered. You are not only limited to those questions if they have their own questions that fall under your category. 

The Farmer- The farmer has an important role of learning what the mother hen needs to do to care and prepare for her chicks. Does the hen need proper housing? What does the farmer feed his/ hen? Does the farmer care for her eggs at all? What exactly is the farmers routine to care for the mother hen?

Eggs-pert- The eggs-pert is a very special task! The eggs-pert has to learn what occurs inside the egg? How long does the egg take to hatch? What grows first in the egg, what grows last? Does the egg need any help to grow? How does the mother hen keep her eggs safe? 

Caretaker- After the chicks are born, there is a lot of care and work that goes into keeping them safe and healthy! What does the mother hen do to protect her chicks? Do the chicks need milk like many other animals? What do they eat? How long do they tend to stay with their parents? How long does it take them to grow into a full hen?

Mother Nature- Mother nature effects many different animals. Does temperature effect when mother hens become pregnant? What if chicks are born in the cold? How does the mother hen keep her unborn/ born chicks warm? What weather do they need to remain safe? How does weather effect their growth?

You are not limited to these questions, if you come up with other questions of your own, you are more than welcome to research them and report the information back to your group! These questions are just to get your thinking juices flowing!

Farmer links:

http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/chapter-4-ca…

http://happymoneysaver.com/how-to-raise-baby-chicks/

Eggs-pert links:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/info/chicken/egg.shtml

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T93Qp3JLrFA align:center]

The Care-Taker links:

http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/chapter-4-ca…

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-baby-chicks-the-first-60…

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/03/baby-chick-basics-what-you-nee…

https://thechickendance.wordpress.com/chick-growth/

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2IN4HIeJEk align:center]

Mother Nature:

http://www.asagihatchery.com/education/raising_chicks.pdf

http://urbanchickens.org/raising-baby-chicks/

After you learn about their role in the hatching of the baby chicks, you will report back to your group what you learned during research. Then you will put together a small presentation to share with the class.

After you learned, prepare a safe place to "hatch your own chick".

Tomorrow you will be carrying around a baby egg with you ALL day during ALL activities. Your job is to mother the baby egg as well as a real mother hen would. You will keep your egg in a plastic bag (in case there are any accidents). The student who keeps their egg safe all day is the best mother hen in the class! Have fun with this and be creative.

Evaluation
      Teacher Name: 

A Engler

       




    Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Ideas/Research Questions Researchers independently identify at least 4 reasonable, insightful, creative ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research. Researchers independently identify at least 4 reasonable ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research. Researchers identify, with some adult help, at least 4 reasonable ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research. Researchers identify, with considerable adult help, 4 reasonable ideas/questions to pursue when doing the research.
Delegation of Responsibility Each student in the group can clearly explain what information is needed by the group, what information s/he is responsible for locating, and when the information is needed. Each student in the group can clearly explain what information s/he is responsible for locating. Each student in the group can, with minimal prompting from peers, clearly explain what information s/he is responsible for locating. One or more students in the group cannot clearly explain what information they are responsible for locating.
Group Timeline Group independently develops a reasonable, complete timeline describing when different parts of the work (e.g.,planning, research, first draft, final draft) will be done. All students in group can independently describe the high points of the timeline. Group independently develops a timeline describing when most parts of the work will be done. All students in group can independently describe the high points of the timeline. Group independently develops a timeline describing when most parts of the work will be done. Most students can independently describe the high points of the timeline. Group needs adult help to develop a timeline AND/OR several students in the group cannot independently describe the high points of the timeline.
Keeping The Egg Safe Student keeps the egg with them all day. Students egg does not break and stays safe though out the day. You were a successful mother hen! You leave your eggs a few times because you forgot about them. The egg was seen left at your desk, at recess, and other times. The egg is still safe though! You left your egg and have dropped it a few times throughout the day. Oops! It can be hard to be a mother hen. The egg is still safe though. You left your egg and it broke! You harmed your baby chick. The day spent as a mother hen was unsuccessful!

Conclusion

Thank you for discovering all the ways to keep a baby chick safe through trial and research. I hope you all had a fun time learning the difficulties mother hens go through on a daily basis while raising and protecting her babies. It's not always easy to put the chicks first when there are so many important other things to do and accomplish in your busy days! I'm very proud of you learning your roles for caring for your chicks and working together to keep them healthy and happy! You all have made wonderful mother chickens! Congratulations!

Credits
Teacher Page

Content Standard(s):

NGSS LS1- 2: Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.